Li Qiang

Premier of China; Second-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee - Delivered Government Work Report on March 5, setting 5% GDP target and announcing fiscal measures

China adopted five-year economic planning from the Soviet Union in 1953. Seventy-three years and fourteen plans later, the 15th Five-Year Plan unveiled at Beijing's annual Two Sessions on March 5, 2026, represents the clearest break from the growth-first model that powered China's rise since Deng Xiaoping's reforms in the 1980s. Under Xi Jinping, the plan elevates technological self-reliance and economic security, with $70 billion earmarked for semiconductor incentives, as Premier Li Qiang confirmed in his Government Work Report setting the 2026 GDP target at around 5%.

Updated 22 minutes ago

Premier of the State Council of China - Delivered the 2026 Government Work Report to the National People's Congress

For three decades, China's annual growth target was a formality — the economy nearly always blew past it. On March 5, Premier Li Qiang set the 2026 target at 4.5% to 5%, the lowest figure Beijing has published since it began the practice in the early 1990s. The downgrade from the previous three years' 'around 5%' signals that China's leadership now expects structurally slower expansion for the foreseeable future.

Updated 2 hours ago